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Could the Toyota S-FR Compete Against the Subaru WRX?

I wonder why more car companies haven’t built competitors to the Subaru WRX.

There’s a great write-up of the entire history of the WRX over at Road & Track, which I encourage you to read if you’re new to the car’s culture. Established WRX fans are already well versed in the vehicle’s evolution and beyond stoked about the concept for a next version.

While America was introduced to the WRX in 2002, other countries (including Japan, the U.K., and Australia) have known the rally racer since 1997. That’s plenty of time for competition to spring up, but it never really did, save for the Evo.

The WRX is so different because it came from rally racing roots, is all-wheel drive, and can be had in either sedan or wagon form. That makes the car perfect for families that need to haul serious… stuff. Other carmakers just don’t have the pedigree to build a car like the WRX.

Toyota, though, could offer something similar, but with its own twist.

The picture on top of this article is the Toyota S-FR Racing Concept. It’s a grumpy little thing, isn’t it? Unlike the WRX, the S-FR is rear-wheel drive and built for racing on pavement rather than dirt. The two cars are similar in that they’re compact racers built for speed and performance–and, if the S-FR ever goes into production, it will also be affordable, like the WRX.

Toyota isn’t saying too much about the S-FR just yet, but will debut it at next month’s Tokyo Auto Salon. An article on Yahoo said,

Toyota won’t tell anyone what’s under the hood, but considering it was designed to undercut the slightly more powerful GT 86, rumors support the theory of a 1.5-liter, 130-horsepower engine.

We’re living during a time when autonomous driving is all the rage. It feels good to see cars like the WRX and S-FR Concept because they make me feel better about the world and give me hope for a future of driving excitement.